Bicycle-skirt



AU EX D1405 XR 579,145

(No Mndel.)

A. M. GREAN. BIGYGLE SKIRT.

Patented Mar. 23,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BICYCLE-SKIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

579,145, dated March 23, 1897.

To all whom it may COILLCI'IL.

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER .iI. Gnnax, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycle- Skirts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in bicyelcskirts for women.

The object of my invention is to produce a skirtwhich may be used as an ordinary walking-skirt or which can be so changed in a simple and rapid manner as to form a skirt specially adapted for use in bicycling.

My invention consists in a bicycle-skirt having means for detachably connecting the middle of the front of the skirt with the middle of its back in a vertical line, so that the skirt when thus connected is divided into two compartments, one for each leg of the wearer, whereby while riding a bicycle the legs of the wearer are free to operate the pedals without danger of the garment catching in the moving parts of the machine or of becoming inflated by the wind to such a degree as to interfere with the comfortor movements of the wearer.

The invention will first be described in 0011- neetion with the accompanyingdrawings, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the garment in condition for use as a walking-skirt. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the garment when arranged for riding. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; and Figs. .t, 5, and U are detail views of the fastening devices.

Referring to the drawings, A is a skirt, which is made after any usual or desired pattern of short walking-skirt. This skirt, as usual, has its back a somewhat longer than its front a, and is provided at the middle of the front and back portions and on the inside of the same with strips 1; 13' of fabric, leather, or similar suitable material. The lower ends of the strips are not placed at equal distances from the bottom of the skirt, the front one i;

i being placed somewhat nearer to the bottom than the back one, for a purpose hereinafter described.

The strips are secured to the inner surface of the garment in auysuitablc manner, such as by stitching, and are provided with coacting parts of a series of fastening devices arranged in a vertical line. These fastening devices are preferably constructed similar to the well-known glove-fasteners, comprising headed stud portions 0 and socket portions 0', the studs being arranged to enter the sockets, where they are held by the elasticity of the material from which the studs or socket portions are made. These fasteners are pre ferably attached to the strips B 13' by inserting their parts through holes in said strips, each part c 0 having a head a, which is held between the strip and the inner face of the garment.

The coacting parts of the fastening devices are arranged at equal distances apart on their respective strips, wherefore it results that (if we assume that all the stud portions are on the front of the garment) the lowest stud po1= tion will be closer to the bottom of the garment than will the corresponding lowest socket portion. From this it is obvious that when the skirt is upon the wearer and the eoacting parts of the fastening devices are secured together the front of the skirt will be drawn farther toward the rear than the back of the skirt will be drawn toward the front, as shown in Fig. 3, which results in keeping the middle of said front of the skirt considerably to ward the back, so that it will tend to lie closely against the seat-standard of the bicycle when the wearer is riding and thus draw the slack of the skirt from the sides and front to the center of the front and between the legs of the wearer, keeping the skirt smooth around the riders legs in a yielding manner, which allows the garment to follow the movement of the rider without becoming wrinkled or bagging, whereby the chances of the garment to become inflated are reduced to a minimum.

\Vheu the rider dismounts, the parts of the fastening devices may be separated and the garment thereby becomes an ordinary walking-skirt.

I am aware that a skirt provided with a se- IOO ries of fastening devices arranged in a horizontal line across a portion of the bottom of a dress-skirt is old; but in such construction the central portion will not drape back between the lower limbs of the wearer, but will tend to sway out in front, which renders the garment subject to be inflated, to the discomfort; of the rider. This is entirely avoided in my invention, owing to the vertical arrangement of the fastening devices and to the fact that the eoaeting parts of the fastening de vices are at unequal distances from the bottom of the skirt.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A bicycle-skirt provided with a series of separable fastening devices, arranged in a substantially vertical line, said fastening devices each comprising two eoaetiug parts, one series of parts being secured to the inside of the middle of the front of the skirt, while the other series of corresponding parts is seen red to the inside of the back of the skirt, whereby the middle of the front and back of the skirt may be detaehably secured together.

3. A bie vele-skirt provided with a series of separable fastening devices arranged in a substantially vertical line, said fastening devices each eomprisingtwo eoaet ing parts, one series of parts being secured to the inside of the middle of the front of the skirt, while the other series ol" correspondin; parts is seeured to the inside of the back of the skirt, the trout series of parts of said fastening devices being nearer the bottom of the skirt than the series at the back, whereby the sides: and front; of the skirt when in its fastened Condition are drawn toward the baek, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALlIXANDlCli )l, URBAN.

Witnesses:

GEORGE SLAnonen, VASslhi' RostcN'rnAL. 

